Oil Tops $102, Set For Weekly Gain Of Over 6% On Prospects Of Middle East Oil Disruption

[Purveyor]

By Myra P. Saefong and Laura Mandaro, MarketWatch

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — Oil futures topped $102 a barrel on Friday as concerns over the potential disruption of the Middle East oil trade intensified, setting prices up for their biggest weekly gain in over a year.

Better-than-expected U.S. employment data for June also contributed to oil’s price gain, with the growth in new jobs helping to raise the prospects for energy demand.

--CLIP
It’s the “classic fear-premium trade due to concern that the Egypt protests could cause a domino effect and create supply disruptions in the Middle East,” said Jason Rotman, president of Lido Isle Advisors in Newport Beach, Calif.

“This doesn’t seem to be a short-lived rally as the technical breakout above $100 this time looks significant,” he said. “We believe oil could rally further to $105.”

--CLIP
But the Suez Canal, an important thoroughfare for oil traffic, is still operating normally, Reuters reported, citing unnamed sources. An Egyptian state-owned newspaper first reported that the border was being shut down due to security threats.

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http://www.marketwatch.com/story/oil-lower-as-dollar-gains-ahead-of-jobs-report-2013-07-05

[sinkingfeeling]

1. Don't you just love speculation? It 'could cause' or 'might' is now the

basis for setting 'price'. Sure doesn't fit with all that stuff I had to learn in Economics 101 back in the 60's.